Wiper systems for road vehicles are designed to operate with a high level of performance and reliability. The wiper system ensures the forward looking windshield and in some installations the rear glass or back lite are clear of water, ice and snow that may be encountered during inclement driving conditions.
Common to wiper systems is one or more motor driven wiper arms that are fitted with wiper elements or wiper blades. The wiper arms are driven by the wiper motor to move in a predetermined pattern so that the wiper blades clear the windshield or rear glass surface.
The wiper motor requires electric power to operate. In existing implementations, the wiper motor requires a direct electrical/signal connection provided by a wiring harness. For all wiper systems, the need to provide electric power to the wiper motor complicates the design/packaging and installation processes. Providing a wiring harness to a rear wiper motor is particularly difficult often requiring pass through grommets to communicate the wiring harness through body panels and as well providing wiring on the exposed, “wet” side of the vehicle body panels. Complicated wiring arrangements often leads to reduced reliability and increased warranty issues.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide wiper systems that simplify the connection of the wiper motor with the vehicle electrical systems. It is further desirable to provide vehicles incorporating such wiper systems. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.